Cotton-chopper.



PATENTED JAN.'31, 1905.

JqA. BUTTS. I COTTON CHOPPER. AlPLIGATION FILED OCT. 13, 1904.

No; 781,399. PATENTED JAN. 31, 19 05. I

. J. A; BUTTS.

GOTTON CHOPPER.

: APPLIGATION FILED 0UT;13. 1904.

2 SHEETS-SEEET 2.

I INVENTTR UNITED STATES Patented January 31, 1905.

PATENT OFF-ICE.

COTTON-CHOPPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 781,399, dated January1905.

Application filed October 18,1904. Serial No. 228,291.

Georgia, have invented certain new and use ful Improvements inCotton-Ghoppersj and I do declare the following to bea full, clear, and

exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledinthe art to which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and

to the letters of reference marked thereon,

which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements incotton-choppers; and 1t has for its ob ect, among others, the pro-V1s1on of a simple, inexpensive, and serviceable machine of thischaracter involving a construction in which the cutting-blade ispositioned between the driving-wheels and in advance of the seat of theoperatomso that the operation of the cutting-blade is at all timesvisible and its guidance readily controlled by the operator. provided inadvance of and-in the direct line of travel of the cutting-blade, thiswheel serving to indicate at all times the direct line of the chopper.

The invention further resides in the provision of a lever-actuatedmechanism for throw- "ing the chopping-blade into and out of serve. iceand also in the provision of mechanism whereby the chopper may be raisedor lowered, as desired, in order to escape stones or. otherobstructions.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings,which, with the letters of reference marked thereon, form a part of thisspecification, and in whic Figure 1 is a central vertical longitudinalsection taken through a cotton-chopper constructed in accordance with myinvention. Fig. 2 is a front elevation. Fig. 3 is a top plan View, andFig.4 is a rear elevation, of the same. Fig. 5 is a perspective View ofmy invention, portions of the sleeves being broken away.

Reference now being had to the details of the drawings by letter, A Arepresent the driving-wheels of the machin'e,which are jour- Aguide-wheel is naled upon the curved axle B, anda seat C is secured tothe free end of a yielding metallic strip G, the forward end of which issecurely bolted to the'rear portion of the frame D.

E is a guide-wheel which is journaled in the bifurcated lower end of asupport E, the up per end of which is bolted or otherwise suitablysecured to the forward end of the frame D. It will be noted that thesaid guide-wheel E is positioned at apoint slightly to one side of thelongitudinal center of the machine.

E is a shaft journale'd at its forward end in openings provided inbifurcated ends F of'a depending support F, said shaft having a bearingwithin a vertical slot or loop H and the said shaft having attachedthereto a rotatable chopping-knife H.

Between the bifurcated'ends F of the member F is provided asprocket-wheel I, the said wheel being journaled upon the forward end ofthe shaft Eaas slio Wn. Around this sprocketwheel I and around asprocket-wheel K upon chain L, traveling over auidler T. Journaleduponthe shaft K is a beveled gearwheelM, which meshes with a gear-wheelM, having a hub portion 0 with a serrated edge designed to receiveamovable clutchcollar 0, which is moved longitudinally upon the axle bymeans of an angle-lever 0 the mounted upon "a pivot-pin N carried by thebar N which is secured to the frame of the apparatus, and saidangle-lever O is also piv- .a longitudinal shaft K. is passed asprocketotally connected upon the pin N, as shown clearly in Fig. 50fthe drawings, while the downwardly-extending end of the lever O ispivotally connected at N with the lever N, whereby as said lever N isthrown in one direction or the other the clutch-collar 0 will be throwninto or out of engagement with the serrated hub 0 upon the gear-wheel M.

In order to raise and lower the shaft carrying the chopping-knife, Iprovide the fol- I lowing mechanism, comprising the upright posts P,whlch T188 from the frame D and which posts are connected by across-piece P and suitably braced by the bars P Upon each of said postsis a sleeve P, and P designates a bar having a vertical play upon saidposts and has its ends downwardly bent and pivotally connected at P tothe links P, the lower end of one of said links being pivotallyconnected to the angle-lever Q, mounted upon the frame of the machine.Mounted upon the frame is a notched segment Q and a pawl Q is connectedto rod Q and is designed to engage the notch in said segment, while ahandlever Q, pivotally connected to the lever Q,has connection with saidrod Q Depending from the bar P is an arm P, which is pivotally connectedto the upper end of the bar F. By this construction it will be observedthat the shaft carrying the chopper may be raised or lowered by thesimple manipulation of the lever mechanism shown and described.

From the foregoing description the operation of the device will be atonce readily understood.

It will be seen that in use the seat is so positioned that the operatoris directly above his work and is within full view of all parts of themachine, the guide-wheel being in ad- Vance of and in line with thechopper or hoe and indicating at all times the line of travel of thehoe, so that the same may be maintained at the desired or properdistance from the row of cotton under cultivation. By

means of the lever mechanism for engaging and disengaging the clutchmechanism at one side of the machine the same may be thrown out of gearvery readily when it may be desired to move the machine from place toplace without imparting a rotary movement to the chopper or hoe.

Having thus described my invention, what [claim to be new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

A cotton-chopper comprising a frame, an axle and driving-wheels, aclutch-collar splined to the hub of one of said wheels, an angleleverhaving a bifurcated end swiveled to said clutch-collar, a gear-wheeljournaled upon said axle and having a hub with serrations or teeth uponone edge thereof and adapted for engagement with said clutch-collar, abevel gear-wheel and sprocket-wheel mounted upon a suitable stub-shaft,a vertically-movable bar having its lower end bifurcated, a shaftjournaled in the arms of the bifurcated end of said bar, a guide for theopposite end of said shaft carried by said bar, a sprocket-wheel fixedto said shaft and mounted between the arms of the bifurcated end of thebar, a sprocket-chain connecting said sprocket-wheels, a chopper carriedby said shaft, posts rising from the frame, a bar having angled endsmounted upon said posts, a lever pivoted to the frame and having linkconnections with said angled bar, said bar carrying said shaft beingpivotally connected to the angled bar mounted to have a vertical playupon said posts, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aliix my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

JOHN ALISON BUT'lTS.

Witnesses:

W. B. HoLMns, B. L. HUMPHREY.

